The upgrade of Cyprus’ rating by Standard and Poor’s constitutes a reaffirmation of the economy’s growth prospects, as well as the stable and sustainable course of public finances, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said recently.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said the government would not take any fiscal measures that would undermine the economy`s growth prospects, despite the European Commission`s view that Cyprus should implement measures to comply with the Stability and Growth Pact targets concerning the structural balance in 2017.

A strong passport is a powerful thing when it comes to seamless international travelling, allowing its holder to move across borders without dealing with the nightmarish bureaucracy of a visa application.

If Cyprus is to attract the big users of telecommunications like data hosting or hi-tech financial services trading, and if it is to meet the challenge of deep-pocketed new players like Google and Microsoft, it needs to attract more foreign investment.

Inflation in Cyprus was 1.4% in February 2017, up from 0.7% in January 2017, with a monthly rate of 0.1%.

Cyprus took a step closer to becoming a regional technology hub as Imperial College’s Vice President David Gann visited the University of Cyprus to help launch the two universities’ joint KIOS Centre of Excellence.

The Cooperative Central Bank was ordered to hold more capital by the European Banking Authority (EBA) to hold more capital, as part of the EBA’s exercise in identifying 'Other Systemically Important Institutions (O-SIIs)' in the EU.

Cypriot businessmen and foreign investors are the main buyers of the immovable properties in the hands of the Real Estate Management Unit (REMU) at the Bank of Cyprus, with increases in the number of transactions taking place in debt-for-property swaps in February 2017.

The number of persons employed increased by 0.9% in Cyprus, by 0.3% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.2% in the EU28 in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat.

The share of energy from renewable sources, expressed as a percentage of gross final energy consumption in Cyprus, stood at 9.4% in 2015, according to data released by Eurostat recently.